Fisayo Longe on Ten Years of Kai Collective
The Kai Collective founder talks solo trips that become print collections, staying present in her own community and what “cultural permanence” looks like over the next ten years.
In the fast-evolving landscape of contemporary fashion, few labels have captured the cultural zeitgeist quite like Kai Collective. Founded in 2016 by Nigerian-born creative Fisayo Longe, the London-based brand started as an it-girl’s best-kept secret. Quietly peppering the Instagram feed with the iconic Gaia dress and sets, the brand grew organically from an ambitious personal project into an international phenomenon.
Revered for its vibrant, body-conscious silhouettes and signature, eye-catching prints, Kai Collective has redefined what it means to create directional garments tailored for women who refuse to blend into the background. Yet, beyond the instantly recognizable aesthetics – and prints Longe says are an art rather than a science – the brand’s true superpower lies in the authentic sense of sisterhood it cultivates. From day one, Longe has nurtured an intimate, global community where fashion serves as a canvas for self-assurance, storytelling and emotional connection.
Celebrating nearly a decade at the helm, Longe’s path from a young brand founder to an industry powerhouse has been a testament to resilience. The realities of scaling a global business brought unforeseen hurdles that tested both her resolve and her creative vision, but time has brought a powerful full-circle moment.
“All my life, I wanted to be on Forbes 30 Under 30 since it started, and it finally happened in April 2021. It was just the culmination of years and years and years of struggle,” Longe said, reflecting on one of her biggest achievements of the past ten years. “It was really the validation I needed, and my confidence grew in such a huge way after this.”
Her unwavering confidence is woven into every aspect of Kai Collective’s DNA. Whether translating the vivid, contrasting hues of a solo trip to Mexico into an evocative new print or personally engaging with customer messages, Longe’s heart-led approach keeps the brand grounded. Rather than succumbing to the relentless pressure of fast-fashion trend cycles, the label remains steadfast in its mission to empower women to step fully into their power.
Looking ahead, Longe is no longer focused solely on growth. She is designing for history. As the conversation continues, Longe reflects on ten years of Kai, and the optimism, self-belief and unshakeable foundation it took to reach this milestone.
Looking back at when you first launched Kai Collective, what was the original vision, and how does the brand today match that initial dream?
When I launched Kai Collective in 2016 at 23, the original vision was actually exactly what the brand is becoming today. If anything, even bigger.
I wanted to create clothes that made women feel seen. At the time, I didn’t feel many brands were creating bold, directional fashion while also celebrating women who looked like me and lived the kinds of lives my friends and I lived.
In those early days, I genuinely believed I could build a global fashion brand. I was probably a little naïve. I didn’t realise just how difficult that journey would be. The business struggled, my confidence took a hit, and for a while my ambition became smaller than my original dream. Life definitely humbled me.
What’s been really special is that, 10 years later, seeing the brand begin to match my ambition and original confidence. As Kai has grown, so has my confidence in that original vision. We’re now on the path I imagined all those years ago, building the kind of global brand I believed was possible before I knew how hard the journey would be.
Prints are a major part of the Kai Collective identity. What is the process of designing a new one? How do you know when you’ve perfected it?
Our prints almost always begin with travel. Experiencing different cultures and places is my greatest source of inspiration.
For example, at the beginning of 2025, I took a solo trip to Mérida in Mexico. It was one place where I felt completely safe, and I believe the place with the lowest crime rate in Mexico. But as a woman who generally moves through the world with caution, I found myself constantly battling between knowing I was safe and feeling like I was in danger.
One day, I took a canoe ride to see the pink flamingos. The water had turned this incredible burnt orange because of the colour from the trees surrounding it bleeding into it, while the canoe itself was bright blue. That contrast stayed with me. The water looked almost like there had been an oil spill, even though it was completely natural. It sparked this idea of exploring the tension between perceived danger and safety, which became the starting point for one of our upcoming collections.
I came back with photographs, notes and emotions. From there, our team begins exploring the concept, experimenting with colour, movement and composition until it evolves into a print that feels uniquely Kai.
Knowing when it’s finished is an art, and not a science. It’s completely instinctive. I’ve always led with my heart more than my head, and I’ve learned to trust that. A print is ready when it makes me feel something. When my heart says it’s finished, it’s finished.
Kai Collective has always felt like a community as well as a clothing brand. How have you managed to maintain that intimate connection and sisterhood with your audience as the brand has grown on a global scale?
I’ve always wanted Kai to feel like a conversation. One of my greatest joys is learning more about our customer: how she moves through the world, what she dreams about, what she’s afraid of and how she thinks. Entrepreneurship has expanded my worldview in ways I could never have imagined because it’s given me the privilege of meeting and learning from so many different women. I’m curious about people, and I’m still very present in the brand. Some people would probably say too present, and I’d be inclined to agree.
I still create founder content, I still read customer messages, I still search for conversations about Kai several times a week, and I still make decisions based on what I’m hearing from our community.
But I also think community comes from consistency. For almost ten years, we’ve shown up with the same values: celebrating women, telling stories and creating clothes that make people feel more confident in themselves rather than chasing a trend. People don’t just buy Kai because they like the clothes. They buy into how the brand makes them feel about themselves and about one another. That’s much harder to manufacture than any marketing campaign, and it’s something we’ve protected from day one.
If you could go back to 2016 and give yourself one piece of advice knowing what you know now, what would it be?
“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be successful. Just keep going.”
I’d also tell myself to document more of the journey. Take more videos. Record video journals. Capture how it all feels. It’s funny because I still don’t really do that, and I need to start now.
Back then, I was so anxious. I wasn’t sleeping properly. I wanted Kai to work so badly, but everything was so difficult. I was constantly worried, constantly questioning myself, and I was broke. Looking back, I wish I’d slept a little easier, knowing that I was doing my best even if I couldn’t see the outcome yet.
To be completely honest, this is advice I still need to give myself today. I need to believe that today’s worries will one day become such an interesting chapter of the story. Not documenting it because it’s painful in the moment is only going to make the book I write in the future even harder to write.
What does the next decade look like for Kai Collective?
The next decade is about building cultural permanence. I want Kai to become one of those brands that people instantly recognise, whether that’s through a print, a silhouette, a fabric innovation or eventually our accessories. The goal is to create pieces that become part of fashion history. I also want to see more women achieve many of their firsts wearing Kai. Their first business, first promotion, first investment, first date, first solo trip. I want Kai to be there for those moments.
More than anything, I want the brand to remind women never to place societal limitations on themselves because of their gender. I care especially deeply about Nigerian women because I know, from my own experience, how easy it is to internalise narrow ideas about what success should look like. I want Kai always to be a visual reminder that you can be the one, two and three. You don’t have to make yourself smaller.
You’ll definitely see us expand into new product categories, continue growing internationally and create more physical experiences around the world. But my biggest ambition is longevity. How do I make sure we’re still here in twenty years? I honestly don’t have the answer to that yet.
